Pensacola Blue Wahoos

Named for a fish common to the area which is fun to catch and whose name is fun to say, the mark of minor league baseball's Pensacola Blue Wahoos adheres to Brandiose's design philosophy that if "it [can] fit in another city ... it?s time to go back to the drawing board". Employing typography which mimics that of the iconic Pensacola Beach sign and colors which uniquely represent the feel of the city, the logo is a vibrant and fun visual metaphor for the area and the club's minor league baseball experience.

Lake Erie Monsters

Minor league sports teams possess greater freedom (usually because they're not weighed down by a long history and legacy) to adopt more novel, creative identities which tend to generate greater fan enthusiasm and loyalty. In fact, the more successful teams tend to see this freedom almost as a mandate to move in this direction, distinguishing themselves from the often disposable, dime-a-dozen competition whose unique selling point is largely geographical. Paying homage to the area's fabled Loch Ness Monster equivalent, the American Hockey League's Lake Erie Monsters is such a team, with an identity whose fun, novel, geographically appropriate concept is done justice with a skillful execution.

Lake County Captains

The maritime themed, badge-like logo of Minor League Baseball's Lake County Captains is comprised of its team name underlined by ocean waves and set in a ship's wheel in metaphorical tribute to its captains mascot. Employing a traditional baseball typography used by Major League clubs like the Anaheim Angels, the logo blends both baseball and maritime tradition in a classy mark.

Oregon Ducks, Donald Duck

Following a handshake deal between Walt Disney and the university's athletic director, Leo Harris in the 1940s, the University of Oregon adopted the iconic Donald Duck as its official mascot, tying its image indelibly to the House of Mickey in a novel move which has withstood the test of time.

Charlotte Checkers

Sometimes a great sports logo is simply a great character illustration, and the former logo of the American Hockey League's Charlotte Checkers is just that. Drawn with solid lines and simply colors, it's not only expressive, fun and appropriate, but also versatile.

Chennai Super Kings

Chennai's Twenty20 cricket team, playing in the Indian Premier League is represented by a logo with a distinctly Indian flavor, from its stylized lion to the crown adorning its work mark. Well balanced and distinct, the mark is a proud symbol of one of the league's strongest teams.

Saginaw Sting

Combative logos are the order of business for most American sports teams and rightfully so because of sport's parallels to military battles. The Continental Indoor Football League's Saginaw Sting is no exception, employing a aggressive, soaring wasp as a visual metaphor to represent what is an abstract team name. If the role of a sports team's identity is to promote competitive loyalty and solidarity, this mark succeeds admirably with a color palette reminiscent of traditional army hues.

Lebron James 23

The former mark of former Cleveland Cavaliers basketball player, LeBron James, cleverly incorporated his particulars - the initials L,B and J and his jersey number, 23, along with a crown to represent his self-proclaimed nickname, King James. Versatile and compact, this logo adorned the merchandise of his Nike affiliated merchandise until he adopted the number 6 jersey.

Wichita Wild

An occurrence more frequently associated with small school or little league teams, the Indoor Football League's, Wichita Wild, tears a page straight out of the local amateur league playbook by adopting the logo of a professional sports team from across the pond playing in Australia's National Rugby League, the Wests Tigers. Imitation being the sincerest form of flattery, the Wests Tigers would no doubt appreciate the compliment, but barring a written agreement and a compelling reason, this amounts to identify theft.

UPDATE: We received an anonymous email claiming that the "tiger part of the logo is a generic logo available online with no copyights associated with it. It is not the property of either team, and was found searching through logos". We have not been able to verify this because no links were provided.

Ottawa Senators

The NHL's Ottawa Senators logo is an impressively crafted illustration of a resolute ancient Roman senator, constructed using strong stroke lines which lends itself very well to both single color and embroidered applications on merchandise, the sale of which makes up a large portion of franchise revenue. Well balanced and framed by a metallic 'O' for Ottawa, the logo serves as a proud symbol and an appropriate representation of a competitive athletic team.

Sergio Garcia

Designed by FutureBrand, the logo of Spanish professional golfer, Sergio Garcia, cleverly weaves together two strands to create an uppercase 'S' which doubles as a lowercase 'g'. Set in red and gold and styled after a gothic tradition, the mark pays tribute to his national heritage in a manner befitting the class, culture and tradition of the game.

Deccan Chargers

Created by legendary identity designer, Chris Mitchell of Epic Icons, the logo of Indian Premier League cricket team, the Deccan Chargers, in a nod to sporting tradition, mirrors the shielded format of storied football clubs like the English Premier League's Arsenal Gunners, while expressing the energy, freshness and vibrancy of the nation's most popular game with its dynamic bull mascot. Comfortably contained and symmetrically balanced, the mark is a proud, appropriate figurehead for the young cricket club.

Oregon Ducks

Designed in close association with Nike, whose founder, Phil Knight, is an alumnus, the single letter monogram of the Oregon Ducks is a beautiful specimen, sleek and strong with a typeface to match, representing typographically the qualities of a top flight athletic team.